Former Shawnee High star Chris LaPierre standing out for Virginia's top-ranked lacrosse team

Thomas Wilson/UVA Media RelationsFormer Shawnee High star Chris LaPierre is now a star for Virginia's lacrosse team, which is ranked No. 1 in the country.
When Chris LaPierre was a boy, he played center in the Garden State Youth Football League in South Jersey. The weight limit was 65 pounds. Kids veered into each other, tumbled to the ground, popped up laughing.

One time, LaPierre hit another boy so hard, the boy couldn’t get up. "What a shock that kid just got," someone said.

After that, most people didn’t call him Chris anymore.

"It was ‘Shocker’ from then on," said Andre LaPierre, Chris’ father. "And it’s always been that way."

Some other parents around Medford, a suburb about 20 miles from Philadelphia, thought the family’s last name was "Shocker." At Shawnee High, teachers and coaches and kids used the nickname while LaPierre carried the Renegades to a South Jersey Group 3 title in football and the state final in lacrosse. Even now, as a 6-2, 215-pound standout freshman on the undefeated Virginia lacrosse team, he hears it.

The first time he played golf with his father, LaPierre shot a 78 -- with 300-yard drives from the regular tees. In a charity volleyball tournament at Shawnee, he spiked a ball off a girl’s nose -- and demanded the point. As a high school senior, he broke the single-season state scoring record -- in football.

"I’ve had people tell me," said Tim Gushue, his football and lacrosse coach at Shawnee, "they think he might be one of the 10 best athletes in the entire state of New Jersey. ..."

Gushue spread his hands wide.

"In the history of New Jersey."

Football coaches wanted him. By his sophomore year at Shawnee, schools such as Penn State and Rutgers came to watch LaPierre. He starred at running back, but most schools wanted to turn him into a safety.

LaPierre played club lacrosse "for fun, just for something to do," he said.

The summer after his sophomore year, the family went to a tournament in Charlottesville, Va. They met Virginia head coach Dom Starsia for a tour. The day before, his parents recalled, they were led around campus by an assistant coach from the football team. They kept quiet while Starsia showed them the same sights. After the visit, Starsia offered a scholarship.

LaPierre thought about it. He told his father that he could be a good football player, but he could be the best player in the country in lacrosse. Virginia offered him that opportunity, plus the academic benefits. "I think you’d be a fool to pass it up," Chris said.

He committed to Virginia in early November of his junior season, then spent the rest of his time in high school dominating both sports. He scored 44 touchdowns and 63 goals as a senior.

In January, LaPierre won Virginia’s fitness test, a coterie of distance running and sprints, bench presses and squats. "He’s a specimen," said Brian Carroll, a senior team captain.

LaPierre starts in the defensive midfield and plays the wing on faceoffs. His stick skills need seasoning, but he leads the midfield in shooting percentage (10 goals) and excels in transition. LaPierre also conducts himself like a captain, speaking up in huddles and moving with confidence.

"I’ll try not to overstate this," said Starsia, a coach with 28 years’ experience and three national titles. "I’m not sure I’ve ever been around a kid like him, in all my years."

In early March, the Cavaliers hosted then-No. 1 Syracuse. In the first half, LaPierre scooped a ground ball (he ranks second on the team in those) and squared upfield. In his path stood Jovan Miller, a 200-pound former All-Central New York tailback. LaPierre didn’t even lower his shoulder.

"He did light him up," Judy LaPierre, Chris’ mom, said.

Miller’s head cracked the ground. Like that poor boy in 65-pound football, he got up.

Eventually.

A final look inside new Meadowlands Stadium before its Saturday opening

A final look inside new Meadowlands Stadium before its Saturday openingThis football season it will be the new home to the Jets and Giants, but Saturday will mark the official opening of new Meadowlands Stadium. The stadium will host the Big City Lacrosse Classic in what is being dubbed a soft opening. About 20,000 fans are expected and will only be open on the first concourse levels. (Video by Michael Monday/The Star-Ledger)